About: 1986 Washington, D.C., mayoral election

On November 6, 1986, Washington, D.C., held an election for mayor of the district, with Democratic candidate and incumbent mayor Marion Barry defeating Republican candidate Carol Schwartz. Incumbent Marion Barry sought a third term as mayor in 1986. By this time, his dominance of city politics was so absolute that he faced only token opposition in the Democratic primary in the form of former school board member Mattie Taylor, whom Barry dispatched rather easily. Barry had expected to face Jesse Jackson, who had been encouraged by colleagues to seek the mayoralty, and who had been relatively popular in stark contrast to Barry's declining reputation. Barry, who knew that most of Jackson's income came from delivering speeches, used his political clout to arbitrarily disqualify Jackson by gett